This invention relates to a device (guard) for covering the slot which is provided in a hand weapon housing and which permits reciprocation of the bolt projecting through the slot and affixed to the breechblock.
Hand weapons are conventionally provided with a bolt affixed to the breechblock, for manually opening the breechblock and/or introducing a round into the weapon chamber. For accommodating the reciprocating bolt, in the weapon housing there is provided a slot whose length corresponds to the length of the reciprocating path of the bolt. It is a disadvantage of such an arrangement that foreign bodies such as dirt may enter the weapon through the slot.
Various devices have been known which function as a slot guard. Thus, for example, in the Kalashnikov weapon the safety lever functions as the slot guard. It is a disadvantage of such an arrangement that in the secured state the weapon cannot be loaded or unloaded and furthermore, in the non-secured state the slot is not covered.
Further, in the Beretta AR70 weapon a flippable closure is used as the slot guard. It is a disadvantage of such an arrangement that the loading motion is obstructed in the closed position of the closure and the slot remains open during operation of the breechblock and during firing pauses.
It is further known to use a slot cover which is moved by the bolt parallel to the housing wall. A disadvantage of such an arrangement resides in the fact that malfunctions can occur because of the acceleration forces which the reciprocating bolt exerts on the closure particularly since simultaneously generated friction forces may brake the breechblock. In an environment of sand and mud where the guard is particularly expected to accomplish its purpose, there are generated additional friction forces between the housing wall and the guard due to particle-like foreign bodies. A guard of this type is externally exposed to a great extent, together with a spring and a guide pin, externally of the housing and therefore the risks of damaging these components are very high.